The Scholastic Art and Writing Award is an annual student competition with a broad range of categories such as ceramics, poetry, short stories, and digital art. Every year, thousands of students compete to win prizes and recognition for their work. This year on January 23, six students received gold key awards, which are granted to the very best works submitted to local programs, and will go on to compete for medals.

Michelle Moon

Senior Michelle Moon was inspired by controversial issues and submitted two pieces called “Imprisoned” and “The Whale’s Fate.” “Imprisoned” is a mixed media piece expressing a confused teenager questioning their identity and dealing with hate online. The chaotic art involved in this piece adds to the disoriented feeling when one is online. “The Whale’s Fate,” an illustration, portrays large-scale pollution affecting wildlife and the environment.

“I used pretty colors to allure the viewers, but then when they look closely at it, it’s more pollution and negativity,” Moon said.

Each piece won a gold key, making Moon among the top in the 5-7% that are awarded gold keys of all regional submissions.

“I’m very happy I can do something I love and get recognition,” Moon said.

Sophia Diaz-DaCruz

Junior Sophia Diaz Da-Cruz submitted two pieces. Her first piece, a mixed media piece called “Peace of Mind,” is about how it’s difficult to discover yourself and realize that your head is the only safe place from society’s corruption. “Peace of Mind” reminds Diaz Da-Cruz of a quote in the book 1984 by George Orwell, the quote being: “The only thing that is truly yours is the few cubic centimeters inside of your skull.”

“I hadn’t read the book until many many months after I made the piece, but I found it interesting that it was pretty much exactly what I was going for,” Diaz Da-Cruz said.

Diaz Da-Cruz’s second piece, an oil canvas, named “Make Me a Sandwich,” is a personal commentary on the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. Diaz Da-Cruz’s intent was to reconnect with femininity and bodily autonomy, and make a statement about the effect the overturning has on women.

“It feels as if we’re reverting back to the 1950s,” Diaz Da-Cruz said.

The title “Make Me A Sandwich” comes from the misogynistic phrase which alludes to typical gender rules. Diaz Da-Cruz hopes to use her voice and platform to persuade people to take a stand against the overturning.

“Art is kind of like the tertiary voice that is a resource for people who are hesitant to speak and [art] is a language that is universal that everyone can understand,” Diaz Da-Cruz said.

Jahnavi Kallichanda

Junior Jahnavi Kallichanda made a digital art piece called “Thook Bolcha” which is inspired by a sacred lamp in Kodava culture used to invoke the blessing of their ancestors. The Thook Bolcha can be found in every home in Kodagu, an administrative district in the Karnataka state in India. The daily tradition to light the candle every dusk and dawn invokes feelings of solace for Kallichanda that she hoped to capture in her piece.

“Thinking of a Thook Bolcha reminds me of India and the comfort of the homes and traditions there,” Kallichanda said. She has been doing digital art since the summer of 2021, and she was pleasantly surprised to win a gold key.

“I’m very grateful Scholastic gave me this award and receiving it has given me confidence and motivation to improve my skills and aim higher with my art,” Kallichanda said.

Emily Chang

Avid artist, senior Emily Chang, has been nominated for gold key awards by Scholastic for the second year in a row. Chang has been drawing ever since she could pick up a pencil and continues to draw with a focus on fantasy and whimsicality. Chang was awarded a silver and gold key in January of 2022 and went on to win a gold medal for her black and white pen-drawn piece titled “Evolution,” picturing a shark swimming through a forest.

Now she has five gold key nominations which will go on to be judged for medals. Chang creates with a focus on the questions: “What if certain aspects or laws of nature were subverted or flipped in some way?” and “How can color inform storytelling?” Her work is often described as surreal, often including flying sea creatures in natural settings.

“The biggest challenges were making sure I selected the pieces that best represented what I was trying to express,” Emily said.

Annie Nuetzal

Junior Annie Nuetzal was nominated for one silver and three gold key awards by Scholastic. Her pieces consist of both digital and ceramic art. She is motivated by a love for art and sells pottery as well as teaching pottery classes.

Nuetzal’s art mainly explores death with themes of suicide, grief, inheritance and more. Her digital art is surrealist, containing depictions of realistic, emotional scenes. One of her pieces pictures someone smoking in a bathtub filled with blood.

“The hardest part is creating the emotions,” Nuetzal said.

Alia Paris

In addition to her Best in Grade and American Visions Nominee awards, senior Alia Paris has also gotten six gold key awards this year for her digital art submissions. Paris’s work mainly explores ideas of faith, featuring many characters in naturalistic settings which she uses to tell stories and share ideas. She mainly makes fantasy pieces centered around the emotions of her characters. Paris finds great value in her artistic process.

“I love doing it and I would continue even if I didn’t win,” Paris said.

She finds joy in reflecting intense emotions in her stories. She has explored many different mediums in her journey as an artist but animation is the career that she intends to pursue in college.